Front shocks....
 

Im in the middle of putting some new Tokico HPs in and I cant figure out how to get the old ones out. I have the actual assembly out and i have the spring off. I also got the top little cap thing off but I cant figure out how to get the actual strut out of the rest of the assembly. Help would be greatly appriciated. Thanks,

-Andrew

there kinda of a nut thats holding the strut and the oil in there....its a hex i believe not sure...you will see it when you look better...its just at the top if the assembly..get that off and she'll pop out

I got that thing out that screws into the top of the mount. In the hayes manual they call it the "gland screw" or something like that, its the thing that slides down the metal piston and screws into the top of the sleeve. Well I have that off but the shock still wont come out. According the the haynes manual I need to remove the o-ring. It doesnt say how to remove it though. I can get pics if it will help you understand what i am saying.

hmm i replaced mine and it just poped out....maybe pic would be better

Thanks, I firgured it out. It was just being stubburn, after a few good pulls it popped right out.

Make sure there is still oil in there. ATF is good to put in. That helps transfer heat from the shock out to the housing and outisde so the shocks don't overheat.

Oh, well I didnt use ATF. I read somewhere that it was good to use synthetic oil so I filled them with that. I've got everything all put back together now and it rides so much better. Its like a whole new car. I love it.

ya, either type of oil will work. Enjoy the ride! :D

I've got the same zx model as you, DoTheDrew. Did you just replace the front shocks or did you upgrade the whole suspension? I'm trying to figure out what to do with my suspension without hurting my ride because I know the 2+2 are much heavier than the 2-seaters.

I didnt replace the whole suspension, I just put in new shocks and springs (front and rear). I bought the Tokico High Performance package. Most places that you buy these say that they are only for the 2-seater. Before I bought mine someone told me that they are fine for the 2+2 also. I've put them in and have driven on them a few days now and no problems yet. The car rides so much better and doesnt lean nearly as much in the turns. They make the car sit noticably lower but not a lot. It looks cool cause the front is slightly lower then the back. If you are considering doing an upgrade I would highly suggest some Tokicos. Get the shocks and the springs, I think I paid about $400 for mine. You might also want to condiser getting urathane bushings to stiffen up your ride since you're going to have the shocks out anyway.

Alright, thanks for the advice. I'm thinking about getting the Tokico Illum adjustable front shocks (may or may not, depending on the +/- 's), Tokico hp rear struts, and the spring kit. The big minus of course is that it costs $60 extra per shock.

If anybody has any experience with the illum adjustables, let me know because if the performance difference isn't all that great I could save like $100-120 and just go with the Tokico HP kit.

Also, on the polyurethane bushings, is there a specific brand that I should look for that has a good reputation for quality? I was looking at a kit from Energy Suspension, but the people on this forum are like Z gurus, so I just had to ask... :D

Well, The Illuminas would be a good choice because you can adjust the ride of the car. They can be used for track and street. I got the HPs becuase they were cheaper and Im poor. If you have the money I would say go for the Illuminas.

I can't really tell you about the bushings except from what I have heard. I didnt get any, the whole poor issue again. But the MSA set is supposed to be good. www.zcarparts.com

I have a question, how do you take the Gland cap off. I cannot get mine off. Any help would be appreciated.

I used a big adjustable pipe wrench to get mine off. Any adjustable wrench that opens big enough should work. Clamp it on the gland and then tap it with a mallot until it comes loose.

a plumers pipe wrench ( monkey wrench) works fine too..